I. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the field of data processing and importing objects. More particularly, the invention relates to computerized systems and methods for implementing a multi-step importation tool for selecting objects for importation.
II. Background Information
In today's information dependent workplace, data is often stored in local or external systems that are available over a network. To accomplish their jobs, workers must access and analyze large quantities of data stored in a variety of locations. For example, a worker using a software application may require data that was created by another worker with another software application. As a result, the worker must import the required data. “Importing” is the process of bringing data created in one application into another application. For example, data created and stored on a server may be required by a worker at a terminal. Accordingly, the worker must import the data from the server to a software application executing on the terminal. Once the data has been imported, the worker may access and analyze the data.
When importing data to a software application, the data that is imported must be encoded or formatted in a manner that the software application understands. Otherwise, the software application will be unable to recognize and process the data. The specific structure in which information is encoded is called a “data format.” Since data formats are specific to particular software applications, the data that a worker may wish to access and analyze might be encoded in a variety of data formats. For example, generic software applications allow users to define their own data formats, resulting in data that is stored in many different user-defined data formats. As a result, when such data is imported, it must often be converted to a data format that is recognized by the software application to which it is being imported.
Due to a lack in uniformity between data formats and between data formats used by different software applications, the importation process can be complex. A user may be required to specify the type of data format that the user wishes to import, for example. Furthermore, a source database may store a collection of related data as separate “records” and each record may arrange data in individual elements called “fields.” The importation process may require the user to specify or adjust field sizes of the target database in order to ensure that the target database can accommodate the imported data. Due to these complexities of importing data, the procedure for successfully importing data is not always evident to the end user and it is often difficult for the end user to identify with precision the data that the user requires. As a result, a user might select a larger amount of data to import than actually needed.
Importing a large amount of data can affect the performance of a system. For example, a significant amount of system resources are require when a large batch of data is imported. Further still, the conversion of data from one data format to another during the importation process may consume a significant amount of resources. As a result, the larger the volume of data to be imported, the more resources that are needed in order to import the data.
Therefore, conventional importation techniques are limited and suffer from one or more drawbacks. Such solutions are typically not flexible enough to provide users with a simple process for importing data. In addition, because users often are unable to select data with any specificity, some data is often imported needlessly, consuming system resources.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for importing data. For example, there is a need for systems and methods that implement a multi-step importation process that divides the process into steps easily understood by users. There is also a need for systems and methods that allow a user to import only the data that is needed in order to conserve system resources. Therefore, a multi-step importation process is needed that is both easily understood by users and that allows users to more accurately select the data for importation.